NPMA Petroleum Certification Program

The time has arrived

The Petroleum Industry has been requesting a certification program for some time now to assist in the selection of qualified applicants for vacancies throughout the world. The National Petroleum Management Association (NPMA) has answered this call with an "industry-first" fuel handler certification program. By joining and aligning your qualifications within the NPMA structure you will have an edge for these highly sought after positions.

The cost for the certification test is $495 dollars. That includes:

Proctored initial certification test (free study materials available)

Records review from an educational review board

If you are eligible for Montgomery GI Bill (Chapter 30) or the Post 9/11 GI Bill (Chapter 33) benefits from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the VA is now offering full cost reimbursement for your NPMA Petroleum Certification!

How does it work?

An individual can achieve any of the 5 certification levels when they first enter the program, but it all depends on the individuals training, education and experience....and successful completion of the certification test. Regardless of which level a person starts, the certification program is built to grow with an individual as they secure additional training, education, and experience within the petroleum industry. It usually takes about 18 years of work in the business to earn the top tier certification, but that is dependent on the amount of training, education, and experience the individual has been exposed to. The certification test is designed to ensure everyone in the petroleum industry has a solid foundation to build on.

There is a body of knowledge that represents the core elements, and these elements are being measured by the certification test. The test questions and materials were developed by committee, and that committee was not responsible for developing the credentialing standards.

After entry into the certification program, the certification candidate may complete the free study materials that are loaded into their classroom on the NPMA website to ensure they are ready to take the certification test. The study materials are not required, but are strongly encouraged. Furthermore, NPMA membership is not required for certification.

The study materials are made up of seven modules, all of which include a “test out” function. If an individual doesn’t pass the pre-test, they will need to complete the module and test again. The individual also will be given two attempts at the completion of each module to pass the test. The tests pull questions randomly from a large battery of questions, so individuals will most like get an entirely new set of questions each time so it’s important to take the information in the course seriously.

Once you are ready to take the Petroleum 101 Certification Test, NPMA will administer a proctored, 100-question test. This final test encompasses material from each of the seven study modules. However, certain areas of the Petroleum field are more important than others (Safety, Environmental, Quality, etc) and the exam is weighted to these areas.

Once an individual passes the certification test, those eligible for VA reimbursement can submit the License and Certification Approval System (LACAS) form provided by NPMA to the VA along with a copy of their payment receipt and test completion certificate to receive full reimbursement.

Following successful completion of the test, the individual will be provided instructions regarding how to submit a record of their current training, education, and experience. Their submitted records will be sent to an administrator who does an initial review to ensure the data appears complete. The administrator then compiles the data and sends the information to an education review committee. It normally takes about 10 business days to hear back from all the committee members. The administrator facilitates any additional discussion, as necessary, to facilitate additional information requested by the educational review committee. This process is done without charge as part of a service provided by the non-profit organization.

Once the review process has been completed, the committee makes a recommendation on the individual’s certification level to the approving official who awards entry level certification (levels 1 – 5).

Who We Are

NPMA is a non-profit, educational and professional membership "service oriented" society dedicated to providing professional status for qualified fuel handlers. NPMA collects, interprets, and disseminates information relating to safe, efficient and cost effective petroleum operations and maintenance support. The association encourages industry - government dialogue to achieve these objectives. NPMA promotes safety in all aspects of fuel handling operations and maintenance through recognized standards. Our mission is to provide a highly motivated professional work force through training and career enhancement opportunities designed to reduce personnel turnover, and eliminate the potential for accidents and fuel quality mishaps. Our vision is to become the "go to" knowledge base foundation through a "world class" training and certification program. We also hope to recognize and reward those who make outstanding contributions to safety and efficiency of fuel support operations.

Who Is the Certification For?

NPMA is dedicated to providing professional status for qualified Fuel Handlers. Fuel Handler is the generic name of the person anywhere in the fuel supply chain, from “wellhead to wingtip”. They encompass operators, maintainers, accountants, programmers, managers, supervisors, controllers, transporters, mechanics,storage attendants, and quality control technicians (to name a few) are all Fuel Handlers. Chances are since you are reading this, you are a Fuel Handler as well.

Why Certification?

Our certification program is designed to enhance individual technical knowledge, safety and product quality skill sets while promoting professionalism in organizations. This comprehensive program will enable organizations to reduce safety and quality risks thus allowing them to retain their most valuable resource—highly qualified and competent employees. Additionally, we’re confident this program will provide the catalyst for certified individuals to be more competitive in a highly technical industry; as one of the leading developmental venues is through professional certification programs.

The certification program is built on a foundation of education, training and experience within the petroleum industry. There are five certification levels (fig. 1) which lead to becoming a Certified Petroleum Professional (CPP).

Getting Started

After enrollment, if you are new to the petroleum industry you will most likely begin your certification journey looking for level 1 certification. There are three requirements to gain level 1 certification.

1. You must pass the certification test.

2. You must have at least 6 months experience.

3. You must be fully qualified in your current job (as verified by your supervisor)

Increasing Certification Levels

Regardless of where you begin your certification journey, to move from one level to the next requires completion of Continuing Education Units (CEU). CEU are the building blocks of training, that when put together with experience move you to the next certification level and ultimately to professional status as a CPP. You can gain CEU by submitting training course information to the educational review board for credit consideration. You also gain CEU for experience by submitting work, education, and training history for the NPMA educational committee’s review. The committee recommends a number of CEU equivalents to the NPMA education board for approval.

Certification Certificates

Following successful completion of all requirements for a particular certification level, NPMA will provide the individual with a signed certificate with the official NPMA seal to publicly acknowledge the individual’s significant milestone.